MLB’s Top 10 Breakout Position Players of 2025

2025 Stats: 161 G, .290/.389/.462, 20 HR, 100 RBI, 27 SB, 138 wRC+, 7.1 fWAR

After agreeing to a four-year, $45 million extension last offseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Geraldo Perdomo broke out in a massive way. The D-backs look like geniuses for this deal, as it’s quickly become one of baseball’s most team-friendly contracts.

Throughout his career to this point, Perdomo has always had an elite eye. The only issue was that he lacked the results to pair with it. This year, that completely shifted. Perdomo’s xwOBA jumped by almost 80 points, one of the most drastic improvements in baseball.

While he still isn’t a premier power threat, Perdomo did a good job at maximizing damage on the pitches he forced opposing arms to throw in the zone. He beat his previous career high in homers by double digits, showing massive growth as a hitter.

Although many players fit the profile for “baseball’s most underrated hitter,” Perdomo looked more and more like the most deserving candidate for this title every day of the 2025 season. Though perhaps he won’t be underrated much longer…

Kyle Stowers, OF – Miami Marlins

2025 Stats: 117 G, .288/.368/.544, 25 HR, 73 RBI, 5 SB, 149 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR

After he struggled to find consistent playing time in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, the club decided to use him as a trade chip in the Trevor Rogers deal. After finding a home in Miami and becoming a consistent presence in their lineup, Kyle Stowers became a completely new player.

Stowers excels in nearly every offensive category. He posted especially unreal quality of contact numbers in 2025. His barrel rate of 19% ranked inside the top 2% of MLB hitters, even finishing above some of the game’s best power threats like Juan Soto and Pete Alonso.

Due to his tremendous performance this season, Stowers was named to his first All-Star team. Unfortunately, almost exactly a month later, he would suffer an oblique injury that ended his season.

Although his season was cut short, Stowers showcased some electric tools at the plate. If he can repeat this production next year, watch out, as he’ll solidify himself as one of the sport’s top power hitters.

Maikel Garcia, 3B – Kansas City Royals

2025 Stats: 160 G, .286/.351/.449, 16 HR, 74 RBI, 23 SB, 121 wRC+, 5.6 fWAR

For a few seasons now, Maikel Garcia’s name has had some serious buzz as a potential breakout candidate. In the wise words of our very own Peter Appel, “Never wrong, just early.” Garcia has shown this to be the case, as he elevated his game to new heights in 2025.

In his breakout campaign, Garcia hit for more power than ever before. He beat his career high homer total by nine while improving his power numbers across the board. His xSLG, for example, jumped over 70 points, while he set a new career-best in max exit velocity.

This all resulted in a 50-point improvement in his wRC+, as Garcia showcased a new level of production. He was a pivotal piece of the Royals lineup, one of just two Kansas City hitters to post an fWAR over 1.5.

Garcia’s breakout was one of the best stories this season in the AL Central. If he continues this production into next season, he’ll cement himself as one of the top third basemen that baseball has to offer.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF – Chicago Cubs

2025 Stats: 157 G, .247/.287/.481, 31 HR, 95 RBI, 35 SB, 109 wRC+, 5.4 fWAR

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2025 campaign was a tale of two completely different halfs. PCA started this year as one of the best hitters in the sport and finished as one of the worst. However, his season showed growth in many ways overall.

Prior to this season, it was no secret that PCA had one of the best gloves in the sport, paired with electric speed. The questions surrounded his bat, which was far less established. He erased those questions this year, proving he could hit at the big league level. After hitting 10 home runs in 410 PA last year, he hit 31 (joining the 30-30 club) in 2025, an unreal power surge for the 23-year-old.

Thanks to his successes in the first half, PCA was named to the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also finished with a top-15 fWAR among all MLB position players.

If PCA can replicate the success he had during the first half of the season, he could become a legitimate MVP threat in 2026.

Brice Turang, 2B – Milwaukee Brewers

2025 Stats: 156 G, .288/.359/.435, 18 HR, 81 RBI, 24 SB, 124 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR

The 2025 season has featured plenty of surprising storylines, but arguably the most surprising was the rise of the Milwaukee Brewers. A good portion of their team were all breakout stars, and one of the biggest breakout stars on this roster was second baseman Brice Turang.

Similarly to PCA, Turang already possessed one of the best gloves in baseball, and there was no doubt surrounding his abilities in the field. The questions were about his bat, but Turang erased all of them with his powerful performance.

Raising his wRC+ by over 30 points this season, Turang transformed into one of the best second basemen in the sport. He also experienced a significant power surge, setting a new career high in homers, barrel rate, max exit velocity, and average exit velocity.

The Milwaukee Brewers finished the regular season as baseball’s best team, and they likely wouldn’t have pulled it off without Turang’s breakout.

Andy Pages, OF – Los Angeles Dodgers

2025 Stats: 156 G, .272/.313/.461, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 14 SB, 113 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR

Considering the number of stars in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup, it’s easy for some players to get lost in the headlines. Outfielder Andy Pages broke out in a big way this year, yet he’s been significantly under-appreciated in the process.

A former top prospect in the Dodgers’ system, Pages has always had high expectations surrounding his game. After posting a 99 wRC+ during his first taste of major league baseball in 2024, Pages entered this season looking for revenge. He raised his wRC+ by 14 points, becoming one of the most important pieces of the Dodgers’ lineup.

Pages raised his wRC+ by 14 points and more than doubled his previous home run total, while posting a four-win season as L.A.’s primary center fielder. He was a very solid bat and provided elite defense in the outfield, registering 10 OAA in the outfield.

Trent Grisham, OF – New York Yankees

2025 Stats: 143 G, .235/.348/.464, 34 HR, 74 RBI, 3 SB, 129 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR

After being included as a “throw-in” piece of the Juan Soto trade back in late 2023, Trent Grisham has become much more than that. He saw consistent playing time this season for the Yankees and became a key performer in theirlineup.

Grisham has long been considered a glove-first player, as he only posted a wRC+ above 100 in two of his first six seasons (2020 and 2021). However, he added another season to that list in 2025, setting a new career high in wRC+. He also slugged 34 homers, surpassing his previous career-high by a large margin.

In addition, Grisham saw his xwOBA jump to a career high of .377. This was complemented by a 14.2% barrel rate, marking the first time in his career he surpassed 12%.

Tyler Soderstrom, OF – Athletics

2025 Stats: 158 G, .276/.346/.474, 25 HR, 93 RBI, 8 SB, 125 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR

The Athletics have quietly built one of the more interesting young offensive cores in the league. One of the most important aspects of that has been the breakout of outfielder Tyler Soderstrom, who delivered production that transformed their lineup in 2025.

Once a highly regarded first-round pick, Soderstrom struggled to find consistent big league playing time in each of his first two seasons. However, once he finally got some regular at-bats, he became a completely new hitter. For the first time in his career, Soderstrom’s wRC+ surpassed the 120 mark.

Soderstrom was one of four Athletics hitters to post an fWAR above 3.0, joining some pretty solid company. His offensive surge was widely attributed to improvements he made in his quality of contact. For example, Soderstrom’s max exit velocity touched 114 mph for the first time during this season.

Sal Frelick, OF – Milwaukee Brewers

2025 Stats: 142 G, .288/.351/.405, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 19 SB, 114 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR

As I previously mentioned, the Milwaukee Brewers have been made up of quite a few breakout players this season. Turang isn’t the only one who deserves to be recognized in this story, as Sal Frelick took huge strides this season as well.

Similar to some of the other hitters in this story, Frelick has long played under hefty expectations due to his pedigree as a former first-round pick. He finally lived up to these expectations in 2025, posting a wRC+ above league-average for the first time in his career.

Frelick was one of three Brewers hitters to post an fWAR above 3.0. He also stole 19 bases, third-most on the team, to go with his 12 home runs.

The Brewers truly wouldn’t be where they are right now without Frelick. He’s become one of the more underrated players in the National League, and it’s time we show him the respect he deserves.

Hunter Goodman, C – Colorado Rockies

2025 Stats: 144 G, .278/.323/.520, 31 HR, 91 RBI, 1 SB, 118 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR

For Rockies fans, there weren’t many things to get excited about this season. However, the breakout of Hunter Goodman had fans hooked, and rightfully so.

Goodman led the Rockies in nearly every major offensive category. He was the first Rockie to hit 30 homers in a season since Nolan Arenado in 2019. His fWAR of 3.4 was far beyond the next-highest mark on the team, and his wRC+ of 118 also ranked first in Colorado.

Goodman showed flashes of elite quality-of-contact skills this year, as his barrel rate ranked in the top 20% of MLB hitters. As a result of his impressive first half, Goodman was named the Rockies’ lone representative at this year’s MLB All-Star Game.

Although Rockies fans may not have had a whole lot to cheer for on the field this season, Goodman became an incredibly fun part of this team.

Honorable Mentions: Ben Rice (NYY), Junior Caminero (TBR)

As I mentioned in the introduction, we wanted to focus on giving non-rookies their flowers. Ben Rice and Junior Caminero each came into the season with 50 MLB games under their belts – enough for them to have technically exceeded rookie limits, but not enough to have established themselves in the big leagues.

We decided not to put them on the main list, but we needed to include them in some fashion.

To put it simply, Caminero was one of the best hitters in baseball this season at 21 years old. He blasted 45 homers during his first full season, while posting a 4.6 fWAR and a 129 wRC+ in the process.

Caminero was also named to his first All-Star team, and he narrowly missed out on a Home Run Derby victory during the same festivities. Overall, the Midsummer Classic was a huge success for Caminero.

It’s scary to imagine Caminero somehow getting better than this, but with the fact that he’s still so young, it’s likely that a brighter future is on the horizon.

Although many of the sluggers listed in this story have a case to be called the most underrated hitter in the league, one could argue for Ben Rice to take home the title. Posting a 133 wRC+, 26 homers, and an fWAR of 3.0 in his first full season, Rice emerged as the newest slugger in the Bronx.

Rice is also a Statcast darling, as he ranked in the 90th percentile or higher in xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard hit rate, and chase rate. For any hitter, that would be quite impressive, but this was especially nice to see from such an inexperienced hitter.

Just like Caminero, it’s scary to imagine what a better version of Rice might look like. If he reaches his full potential, look out. The Bronx Bombers may have another one of the game’s best hitters in their lineup.